Fundamentals of Occupational Health

Introduction

We spend 1/3 of lifetime in workplace, and exposed to hazards including dust, noise, ionization radiation, and chemicals at workplaces. Therefore workplace is one of important factors to determine workers health status. In industrialized world, one of public health priorities is to reduce or eliminate workplace hazards, and to prevent from occupational diseases or illness. This mission could be accomplished by providing proper occupational health services. The Fundamentals of Occupational Health (FOH) course is designed to provide basic knowledge of occupational health to students of Master of Public Health (MPH) in Environmental Health (EH) program.

Course Description

FOH course consists of 3 credits. The course focuses on surveys the history of occupational health, the continuum from exposure to disease, the hierarchy of controls in the workplace, workplace medical screening and surveillance, occupational health hazards, legal and regulatory issues, the provision of occupational health services, the core disciplines in occupational health and safety, and current issues in occupational health.

Relation with other courses

А. In vertical axis – This course requires basic knowledge of human physiology, preventive medicine, chemistry, toxicology.
B. In horizontal axis– FOH will connect with courses of occupational disease, environmental health, environmental and occupational epidemiology, occupational and environmental hygiene laboratory, risk assessment, biostatistics.

Goal of the course

The goal the FOH is to provide knowledge about health hazards at workplaces, and measures to identify work related illness, and to implement exposure assessment, and to organize prevention measures of occupational disease.

Course learning objectives

Upon successfully completing this course, students will be able to:
  • Identify health hazards at workplaces
  • Illustrate how the concepts of exposure assessment, the hierarchy of controls, biological monitoring, medical screening and surveillance are used to prevent occupational injuries and illnesses
  • Use occupational hygiene methods to measure and assess the workplace hazards
  • Reduce or eliminate exposure to hazards based on hierarchy of occupational hygiene controls
  • Explain the contributions of the core OH disciplines to the multi-disciplinary OH team
  • Discuss and compare the key laws that govern the workplace and the executive agencies that are responsible for the regulation and enforcement of these laws
  • Judge the rationale for health promotion/improvement activities in the workplace
  • Explain concepts related to OH, such as, workers’ compensation, disability, employee assistance programs, w orker groups, unions, and emerging issues in the workplace
  • Compare and contrast OH as practiced in Mongolia to OHS practiced in international workplaces

    • Students will learn following knowledge:

  • Health hazards related with workplace or employment which could be causes of occupational diseases
  • Approaches to prevent from occupational disease among workers

    • Students will gain following basic skills:

  • to identify and assess health hazards at workplaces
  • to implement bio-monitoring and exposure assessment
  • to conduct occupational health surveillance

    • Students will have following attitudes:

  • to assess workplace hazards on evidence based and scientifically proofed methods

    • Class schedule

    Week

    Date

    Lecture topics

    Assignment

    Quiz

    Teacher

    Week 1

    10/15 - 10/21

    Introduction to Occupational Health

    Naransukh D

    Week 2

    10/22 - 10/28

    Introduction to noise at workplaces

    Quiz 1 - October 26

    Naransukh D

    Week 3

    10/29 - 11/4

    Occupational noise induced hearing loss

    Naransukh D

    Week 4

    11/5 - 11/11

    Toxic aerosol, gas and vapor at workplaces

    Homework #1: Noise calculation and time weighted average and unit conversion November 6

    Quize 2 - November 9

    Undarma E

    Week 5

    11/12 - 11/18

    Electro Magnetic Frequency at workplaces and its health effects

    Undarma E

    Week 6

    11/19 - 11/25

    Occupational hygiene standards for Exposure limits

    Undarma E

    Week 7

    11/26 - 12/2

    Paradigm of occupational health, and toxicology

    Quiz 3 - November 30

    Undarma E

    Week 7

    11/26

    Midterm exam

    Naransukh D
    Undarma E

    Week 8

    12/3 - 12/9

  • International and Mongolian occupational disease classification
  • Common occupational diseases: Respiratory diseases
    		•

    Nandin-Erdene B

    Week 9

    12/10 -12/16

    Bio-monitoring

    Nandin-Erdene B

    Week 10

    12/17 - 12/23

    Occupational health surveillance

    Quiz 4 - December 21

    Nandin-Erdene B

    Week 11

    12/24 - 12/30

    Administration and legal environment of Occupational Health Safety in Mongolia

    Homework #2: Review studies of occupational diseases, and summarize
    December 25

    Nandin-Erdene B

    Week 12

    12/28

    Final exam

    Nandin-Erdene B

    Course credit

    Credits Lecture Practical Exercise Assignment
    3 crd 24 hours 48 hours 72 hours

    Text books

    Recommended

  • L.Oyuntogos, D.Naransukh, Occupational Hygiene, 2013, ISBN 99973-2-286-X,
  • Barbara .Plog, Patricia J. Quinlan, Fundamental of Industrial Hygiene, 5th edition. 2002,

    • Supplementary:

  • Joseph LaDou, Current Environmental and Occupational Medicine, Current Occupational & Environmental Medicine: Fourth Edition, 2007
  • Cherilyn Tillman “ Principles of Occupational Health&Hygienie”, Australia, 2007
  • National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health www.cdc.gov/niosh

    • Course Grading

    Grades for the course will be based quizzes, homework assignments, exams and participation.
  • Four quizzes -20% (each quiz has 5%)
  • Two assignments - 10% (each has 5%)
  • Midterm exam -30%
  • Final exam -30%
  • Participation -10%
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